Personal Stories and Opinion
- Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) is running a weekly series of stories about families harmed by the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). There are lots of families with children among them. This week they showcase Paul and Bob Ruseau, gay dads in Massachusetts. Worth a look, if only for the adorable family photo—but do read their story, too!
- The Washington Post profiled Rick Imirowicz and Terrance Heath, one of the first same-sex couples to marry in D.C. Also with adorable kid photos.
- “What Transgendered Parents Can Teach Us About Motherhood and Fatherhood,” gay dad and law professor Carlos A. Ball’s latest piece at HuffPo, is a thought-provoking article on gender roles and parenting. An excerpt:
The case of the transsexual parent tells us, perhaps even more clearly than that of the gay or lesbian parent, that we have to as a legal and policy matter pay considerably less attention to the gender of parents. . . . We need, in other words, to think of “mother” and “father” as verbs rather than as nouns. We should focus on what it means to mother and to father a child, rather than on the sex of the parent who happens to be doing the mothering or fathering.
Schools and Youth
- Under pressure from the ACLU of Maryland, Harford County Public Schools has stopped blocking student access to LGBT-themed Web sites, including that of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN). They had not been blocking access to sites that condemn homosexuality.
- The New York Times weighs in on the case of Constance McMillen, whose school cancelled its prom after McMillen wanted to bring her girlfriend. The court ruling on the case, says the Times, “should . . . be a warning to school districts nationwide about the cost of discrimination. . . . The school’s treatment of Ms. McMillen was horrible, but she and gay and lesbian students everywhere have emerged from this battle as the clear winners.”
- McMillen’s school has a history of homophobia and transphobia, it seems. Earlier this year, it suspended a 16-year-old transgender student who attended in feminine clothing, and gave no reason for doing so.
Politics and Law
- As of April 6, U.K. law will allow two men to be named as parents on a child’s birth certificate. If the men use a surrogate, they will not have to have one partner adopt in order for both to be legal parents.
